The present invention relates to a trench compaction device utilizing a rotating wheel that mounts onto the front of a skid steer loader, and is laterally adjustable relative to the loader as well as including vibration isolation members to isolate the vibrations from the skid steer loader.
In the prior art there have been many trench to compaction devices using vibratory wheels for compacting material into the bottom of trenches. Such devices have been mounted onto self-propelled loaders. U.S. Pat. No. 3,471,953 illustrates such a combination, using a complex mounting structure, but it does not teach vibrating the rotating member.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,610,567 shows a trench compaction device that utilizes a plurality of wheels in a side by side location and the wheels are mounted on the front end of a self-propelled loader.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,411,081 illustrates a sheep's foot device that mounts onto the edge of a bucket of a self-propelled loader and has a vibratory connection to the rotating sheep's foot wheels. It also illustrates a type of vibration isolation assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,892,155 illustrates a leveling device that goes onto the front of a skid steer loader, which utilizes a roller across the front of the unit.
Lateral adjustments of a fork lift are well know as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,096,896, and a vibratory compaction tool having shoes of different widths that are attachable to a shank which extends into a trench is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,930,741.
Various isolation mounts have also been advanced for vibrating packers. The present invention provides a vibrating packing wheel used in a maneuverable trench compacting unit which has adjustability to suit a wide number of jobs and minimizes the vibration back to the mounting structure on a skid steer loader.
The trench compactor also, in a modified form, is capable of being inclined so that the plane of rotation of the packing wheel is inclined relative to a horizontal plane (or vertical plane). In other words, the packing wheel can pack trenches at angles, by adjusting a mounting plate. The operation would be exactly the same, but it widens the versatility of the unit to be able to have the wheel travel at an angle.